Jesse Jackson, Noam Chomsky to Keynote Largest Gathering of Progressives March 19-21

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Noam Chomsky, internationally-known crusaders for social justice and peace, will be keynote speakers at this year’s edition of North America’s largest and most comprehensive annual gathering of progressive thinkers and activists, the Left Forum.

Downloadable photos of Jackson can be found at RainbowPUSH Coalition, A photo of Chomsky is on his website, http://www.chomsky.info/

Jesse Jackson, Noam Chomsky to keynote Left Forum at Pace University downtown campus March 19-21

“The Democrats have squandered their identity as the party of hope and change. What is emerging in the wake of this crisis of identity is a Left that is broader than ever before.”

NEW YORK, NY, February 9, 2010 – The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Noam Chomsky, internationally-known crusaders for social justice and peace, will be keynote speakers at this year’s edition of North America’s largest and most comprehensive annual gathering of progressive thinkers and activists, the Left Forum.

Jackson, founder and president of the RainbowPUSH Coalition, Inc. will speak at the opening plenary session Friday, March 19 at 6:30 pm. Chomsky, Institute Professor Emeritus at MIT, will address the closing session Sunday, March 21, at 5:30 pm.

All sessions take place at Pace University’s Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts and adjoining rooms on the downtown Manhattan campus, 3 Spruce Street, just south of the Brooklyn Bridge and east of City Hall.

Last year the Left Forum brought 700 speakers, over 200 panels, and 3,000 attendees to Pace University.

Squandered Democratic identity

Journalists are welcome at all sessions. Media admission is by press pass. The detailed schedule will be available at www.leftforum.org. Interviews of conference speakers can be arranged onsite at the press table and in advance at the media office, 646-468-3363 or 212-817-2003.

“The Democrats have squandered their identity as the party of hope and change, said Seth Adler, the coordinator of the Forum. “What is emerging in the wake of this crisis of identity,” Adler noted, “is a Left that is broader than ever before.”

“We welcome this conference,” said Pace’s Provost, Geoffrey L. Brackett. “We encourage our students and faculty members to participate in passionate and informed discussions reflecting the full spectrum of global political and social discourse, and the Left has important perspectives for us all to consider.”

Satire, Climate, Labor

The all-weekend conference will present activities ranging from panels, roundtables and activist and organizing sessions to comedy and student teach-ins. A few of the panels now planned are:

• Going Undercover: The Yes Men and others discuss subterfuge and satire in activism and investigative journalism

• Redact This! Artists and Writers Against Torture – Art Activism

• From Copenhagen to Climate Justice

• Leveraging Power to Pressure the Obama Administration from the Left

• Importance of Critical Theory to Social Movements Today

• Lessons from Latin American Social Movements for a US in Crisis

• Right-Wing Populism, Political Economy, & Radical Dissent

• No More Affordable Housing Scams: Community Control of Land in New York City

• Urban Guerrilla Movements, North and South

• Of drones, warlords and the Taliban: Ending the U.S./NATO Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan

• The Case of California: Coming Soon to Schools Near you

• The Future of U.S. labor

• Eminent Domain: Unused Tool for U.S. Working Class

• Beyond Fair Trade and Micro-Finance: Gift and Solidarity Economies

Attending the Forum costs $70 at the door for the weekend and $35 for one day, with discounts spelled out on the website for early registration and those who state they have low incomes; the cost is $15 for those with Pace identification and members of groups of 10 or more. It is free for volunteers willing to work at least four hours.

Participants can register at http://leftforum.org/node/23 and volunteer at http://leftforum.org/volunteer.

For 104 years Pace University has produced thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, Pace enrolls nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lienhard School of Nursing, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. www.pace.edu. Visit Pace at Pace.edu | Facebook | Twitter | Flickr | YouTube; follow Pace students on Twitter: NYC | PLV